Not sure what all of those lights mean? Here’s an easy-to-understand summary of all of the different error codes. In a follow-up post, we’ll talk about what you can do about them, if anything.

Xbox 360 Errror Light Codes

The green power light is ringed by 4 two-color LED lights – either green or red. As you can probably guess, GREEN=GOOD, RED = “OH CRAP”.  These four lights are identified by their quadrant. Here are the different quadrants:

Quadrant 1 (Q1) = Upper Left
Quadrant 2 (Q2) = Upper Right
Quadrant 3 (Q3) = Lower Left
Quadrant 4 (Q4) = Lower Right

You basically go left to right, top to bottom. If you lay it out in a grid, it looks like this:

Hardware Failure = When there is a hardware failure, the light in quadrant 4 (Q4) will flash with an ominous red color. There will also be an error code displayed on your screen, such as the infamous E74 error.

Overheating = If your Xbox gets too hot, the console will shut down to prevent damage (this is what should happen in theory, anyway) while the fans will continue to run and cool the unit. The lights in Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 3 (Q1+Q3)will flash until the console has cooled down. Make sure you have good airflow through your unit and that nothing is causing the system to overheat.

General Hardware Failure = When the system has a ‘general failure’, lights Q1, Q3 and Q4 will flash red… this is similar to the ‘Hardware Failure’ above, however there may not be an error code displayed on the screen.

AV Cable Error = When the AV Cable is not connected properly OR there is a serious error, all four lights will flash red. Good times.

1. Out of warranty – and out of luck  – OR-
2. You are a serious Xboxer and want to get up and running TODAY

That’s where the repair guides come in… there are currently more guides around than you can count, but the basic guide will walk you through a DIY Xbox fix using some common items you can find at your local Lowe’s or Radio Shack.

Are these guides worth it? or should you have someone professionally repair your Xbox? One of the more popular guides is the James Dean Xbox Repair guide, which focuses almost exclusively on the RROD error (which is caused by an overheating Xbox). It’s also one of the more expensive guides, but I have personally reviewed this guide, and I feel that it’s worth the money.

Why? First of all, you get access to eight online videos which walk you through – step-by-step – how to disassemble your beloved Xbox. Once the Xbox is apart, James walks you through the process of removing the heat sink, making the fixes, and then reassembling everything. If you’re comfortable turning a screwdriver, you can probably handle this operation. If you’ve ever added RAM to your computer, this isn’t really much more complicated than that.

You also get access to a complete ebook which discusses the process in detail with some other good information and tips. I suggest you watch all of the videos AND read the ebook before you begin. If you decide you’re in over your head, just return the product for a full refund. James is great about giving refunds to those who aren’t 100% satisfied.

On the downside, the RROD is really the only issue this guide addresses, so if you’re suffering from another problem, this guide won’t help you much. The only omission which I felt the guide left out (which probably goes without saying) that you should probably take a can of compressed air and thoroughly clean all of the dust out of your Xbox during this repair, as dust build-up can cause temperatures inside electronic devices to skyrocket. Even a thin layer of dust can act like a blanket and cause electronic devices to overheat. If you have pets in your house, the problem will be even worse due to pet dander accumulating inside of your Xbox and other electronic devices.

I would give this guide a 4 out of 5 stars! Great Job, James! You can also read my complete James Dean Xbox RROD Guide Review on Ezinearticles.

So, let me hear from you… how many Xboxes have you owned, and how many have failed? Is Micro$oft taking care of you like they should, or are the repairs taking too long?

I have seen that the failure rates may be as high as 15% to 25% of all Xboxes sold, and the new Xbox Elite doesn’t seem to be faring much better. What about a class action suit? I have seen that there are several of these in the works, but are they going to result in adequate compensation, or are they just going to make the lawyers involved more wealthy?

Please let me know what YOU think the failure rate on the Xbox is!

This site is mainly about Xbox 360 repair, but it’s pretty obvious that there are a lot of cool add-ons available for your Xbox. One of the coolest is the Xbox Faceplates that have been available for a while. There are a lot of online merchants where you can find these beauties. Make sure you shop around and find the lowest price – also watch out for cheap faceplates that may not fit as well, or be as sturdy as you would like.

Many Xbox problems can be easily solved at home, without costly repair. For example, is your Xbox locking up or crashing on a regular basis? If so, an overheating power supply could be the problem. The solution? Some users have discovered that if you elevate the Xbox off of the floor with small shims that you can improve airflow around the unit and solve the problem. Small floor fan aimed at the unit may also help. Finally, if you use a small can of compressed air and keep the air vents clean, this can help the unit run cooler.

Occasionally, problems can arise tha cause the following Xbox 360 Disc Error:

This disc is unreadable. It may be the wrong region for this console. Match the region of the disc to the console. Clean the disc with a soft cloth. Restart the console. For more help, go to www.xbox.com/support.

Hopefully, there are a few things you can do to solve this problem without expensive repair.

First, “reboot” the console by turning it off, waiting 30 seconds, and then powering it back up. You can then try the disc again.

Second, you should carefully clean the game disc and examine the disc and look for smudges, cracks, or scratches. If it’s badly scratched, you may be unable to use the disc.

Also, you can turn off and unplug the xbox, and then remove the hard drive from the unit and remove any attached “Memory Units” then reconnect your console and try the disc again. If this fixes the probelem, turn it off again, and re-attach the hard drive and or Memory Units, then delete any saved games for the game. If possible, you can save the game data to a seprate Memory Unit.

Also, you can try other games to determine if the problem lies with the game, or with the Xbox 360 console. If it’s a faulty disc (even new discs are faulty at times), you should exchange the disc at the place of purchase.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, contact Xbox Customer Support.

All information about how to dismantle your Xbox 360 is provided for educational reasons. Please do not try this at home as you risk electric shock, death, injury, and voiding your warrantee!

Have you managed to break your Xbox and need to repair your Xbox 360 by yourself (DIY Xbox repair). Well you have come to the right site! We have links on this site to all the best articles here about how to fix your Xbox.

All information about how to dismantle your xbox 360 is provided for educational reasons. Please do not try this at home as you risk electric shock, death, injury, and voiding your warrantee!

Please make sure that you realize this guide is just for educational purposes, and that you risk death or injury by electric shock, and may damage your Xbox even more. Your warrantee will be void. Do anything at your own risk!!

Dismantling original Xbox (getting the case off)

What you need to dismantle your broken Xbox

Torx 20 and Torx 10 (get these, don’t just try with a screwdriver or allen key)

Some form of a knife, to remove stickers

Wax paper, to keep stickers “sticky”

Step one: Removing the stickers on the bottom of the xbox

Two options, either poke through the stickers, or carefully peel them off. There are six stickers on the xbox to remove, one in each corner, and one under two of the stickers (the bar code one, and the “Xbox Video Game System” sticker

The four stickers in each corner can be peeled back with hands/a knife (or a flat headed screw driver)

Step two: Getting the case off an Xbox console

You can now turn the xbox console over and you should be able to get the cover off from the bottom of the console